Living In Portland

"Love is Love." Same-Sex Couples Marry at City Hall

By midnight a crowd of well-wishers had gathered outside Portland's City Hall. Mayor Michael Brennan offiicially opened the clerk's office at 12:01 am EST on December 29th, the earliest time that same-sex couples could exercise their new right to marry.

Mainers approved same-sex marriage by popular vote in November and Governor Paul LePage signed off on the certified election results on November 29th. The new law went into effect thirty days after the signing, Saturday, December 29th. Mayor Michael Brennan felt that couples had waited long enough for this moment and should have the opportunity to marry right away, even though 12:01AM on a Saturday is outside of usual city operating hours. Brennan said, "I spend a lot of time talking about the importance of community, and how everyone should have the opportunity to be a part of a community. You can't build a community when some part of the community is discriminated against. This removes one other barrier to discrimination and allows us to be a complete community."

The historic occasion made for tight space in the city clerk's office: The press corps included local outlets as well as national media. For an excellent rundown of the evening's events and pickup by press, see Alex Steed's coverage on the Bangor Daily News.

The first couple to receive their license to marry, Steven Bridges and Michael Snell opted to have their ceremony on the spot, wearing matching t-shirts that said, "Love is Love." You can hear the crowd's reaction to their first public appearance in this video produced by Steed's company, Knack Factory in collaboration with Bangor Daily News: